Kal Penn Talks to Students, Community Members in Reno

RENO, NV - Students and community members gathered at St. James Infirmary in Reno Thursday night to hear actor and public servant Kal Penn speak. Penn is currently serving as co-chair of President Obama’s re-election campaign.

“I focus a lot on youth issues and whether you’re a young Republican or a young Democrat, most of the issues youth care about are things like marriage equality, obviously jobs and the economy, college affordability and health care,” Penn said. “These are all things the President has done a tremendous job on and we all want to continue to see that growth and if he doesn’t get re-elected those are all going to get rolled back so I think it’s very important leading up to November.”

He says an important issue facing young people right now is the student loan issue. Rates could go up from 3.4% to 6.8% over the summer.

“It’s always a big deal but particularly right now where student loan rates are going to double on July 1st if Congress doesn’t act,” Penn said. “The President has been doing everything he can to make sure the rate doesn’t jump, it’s a relatively non-partisan issue that affects a lot of young people and it’s going to make it harder for folks to afford college, pay off their student loans and enter the job market. We want to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

Penn encouraged everyone to get involved in this years election process.

Online Public Information File

Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or fccinfo@fcc.gov.